


Everybody Loves Me

by imaginationrunsfree



Category: Castle
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Series, Smut, one shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 03:19:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11865570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginationrunsfree/pseuds/imaginationrunsfree
Summary: A series of one-shots based on various scenes from all seasons of Castle. Warning: some chapters are rated M for lemons/smut!





	1. Caught in the Act

**Author's Note:**

> This particular one shot is based off the ending scene of season 2, episode 4, "Fool Me Once..". I absolutely loved the expression on Beckett's face when Castle caught her in the bathroom and told her were he sex scene was. Anyway, this is my continuation of that scene. I suggest that if you haven't seen the episode yet you go and watch, it's awesome!
> 
> WARNING: Contains some very strong sexual refrences. If your too young or you don't like, just skip over it!
> 
> Reminder that reviews are always appreciated!

Kate Beckett watched Castle as he turned to leave. She was stuck with a good few hours of paper work to do, but all she could think about was that book. Ever since that CIA agent mentioned the sex scene their two characters shared she was dying to delve deep into the pages of  _Heat Wave_  and discover what sort of fantasy Rick had dreamed up.

Checking to seeing that Castle had left, she quickly grabbed her purse and rushed off to the bathroom. She entered the cool marble stall and quickly sat down on the lid of the toilet; bringing her legs up so no one would see her. She began to flip furiously through the pages as her mind began to create its own fantasies.

"Aha! I knew you were reading it!" exclaimed Castle, peering over the wall of the stall.

"Castle what are you doing here!" Kate was completely flustered in her embarrassment. She had been doing such a good job of stringing Castle along, thinking that she wasn't reading his book. She loved his books; he should have known right away that she was lying. The man was simply too fun to tease. Now, it was all ruined. He had caught her in the act, in the  _bathroom_  of all places.

"I, was..ah"

"It's on page 105 by the way." Castle said with a smirk on his face.

"Wha…what?"

"The sex scene you're looking for. Oh and Agent Grey was right, it's steamy."

"I wasn't…"

"See you tomorrow" Rick said, whistling with satisfaction on his way out.

Kate was completely stunned at Castle's boldness. She couldn't believe he just walked in here like that and popped over that stall. He could be such an ass sometimes, but his rugged good looks and comical good-naturedness seemed to be continually making up for it.

Recovering from her shock, she quickly skimmed the pages until she found page 105. She began to read, attempting to suppress her excitement.

" _Within minutes they had managed to strip each other of their clothes. Rook embraced Nikki in a passionate kiss as he led her to the bed. Rook broke the kiss and began working his ministrations further down Nikki's body. Taking control, Nikki flipped them so she was straddling Rook in nothing but a light blue thong_."

Kate's mouth dropped as she read. The scene continued to increase in heat, and she began to feel herself wet at the thought.

" _She cried out in ecstasy as he pounded into her, continually hitting her sweet spot with his impressive girth. Within seconds the two came to a halting climax, screaming out their partner's names before collapsing into each other's arms_."

Kate slowly closed the book. She could feel her cheeks flushed with the heat of her oncoming arousal. She knew how good of a writer Castle was, but this was amazing. If he could write sex that well, imagine what he could  _act it out_. Kate placed her head against the cool marble stall as images of a naked Castle flashed in her mind.

"This is ridiculous." She thought.

This whole time she'd been fighting to keep him on the edge, to keep their relationship professional; and with one sex scene he had completely broken down her walls and caused her to crave nothing but him.

Grabbing her bag from off the floor, she placed the book inside. There was no need to mark the page; she would remember it for months to come. As she left the stall to head home she couldn't help but wonder. Castle has always been a magnificent writer with a brilliant imagination. He combined what he learned in real life with what he dreamed to create complete works of art. Kate was dying to know whether Castle had dreamed that scene late at night, or experienced it with another woman.

Kate's fist clenched at the thought of Castle with another woman. He did have a lot of groupies, there was no denying that. Not to mention the mob of well-off woman just itching to get in his pants. Yet he had never mentioned being with other woman since their partnership. She had questioned him here and there when he returned on a Monday slightly bedraggled and drawn; but he had always explained the situation to her or avoided the question with flirtatious remarks. The chemistry between the two was undeniable, however Kate could not be sure if Castle really felt the same way about her as she did him. She was worried that if she revealed her feelings to him, he would simply play along so that they'd sleep together, and then be done with the whole thing the next morning.

With sudden determination she changed lanes and drove her way over to Castle's apartment. She was quick to march down the hall and into the elevator, pressing the button for the 8th floor. She tapped her toe on the steel floor, more out of nervousness than impatience. As the elevator binged her arrival she practically jumped out of the elevator running directly into Castle.

" Beckett? What are you doing here so late?" Castle seemed genuinely surprised to find his beautiful muse approaching his door.

"I know. You finished the book didn't you? So, how was it? Satisfying enough for you Kate?" he grinned in anticipation, watching her lips as she attempted to find the right words to say.

"I well, no I haven't finished the whole book yet." Castle did his best to hide his disappointment as he glanced down at his feet.

"I did finish reading that..umm sex scene you wrote. The one between our characters?" Kate watched Rick's face as she bit her lip, awaiting his response.

Castle smiled at the thought of Beckett coming over simply to tell him she had finished reading their "steamy" scene together. She must have thoroughly enjoyed reading it for her to come to him like this.

"Oh you did did you? And? Did it meet your standards Beckett?"

"Actually Rick, it was one of the most amazing things I've ever read. How did you come up with something so…"

"Sultry? Sexy? Hott?" he offered, as Kate rolled her eyes at him.

"Truth is Beckett, it came from up here." Castle said pointing to indicate his head "And from down there too" he joked, gesturing to his package.

"So you made the whole thing up? You haven't… experienced something like that before?"

Castle curiously glanced at his partner. Was she jealous that he might have experienced such a sexy scene with another woman?

"No Kate, I haven't. And by the sounds of it, you haven't either. Care to change that?"

Before Kate could even respond, Rick had her in a passionate embrace, hungrily kissing the lips he had been waiting months to kiss. Kate broke away to gasp for breath, stunned and delighted at this recent development.

"Castle, I… think I might be falling in love with you" Kate admitted, biting her lip and glancing nervously down at his chest. Castle sighed the happiest of sighs and placed his lips upon hers once more.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that detective. You should know that not only have I been falling, I'm now completely in love with you."

Kate smiled one of the biggest grins Rick had ever seen before placing a tender kiss on his lips. She grabbed his hand, leading him through his apartment door. They made their way into his bedroom before Castle turned to lock the door behind them.


	2. What He Should Have Said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my take on the Heat Wave launch party scene, where Beckett and Castle are discussing the book. Beckett was clearly hoping Castle would say something romantic or beg to write another book about her. She was totally thrown off when he mentioned the case. Anyway, this is my version of what was supposed to happen.
> 
> This particular one is pretty teen, so nothing to worry about there for all you youngins :P 
> 
> xoxo

It was the night of the Heat Wave launch party and Detective Kate Beckett was having second thoughts about her dress. When she bought it a week ago she had loved the way it hugged her curves and showed off her toned arms and legs. The royal blue colour brought the light out in her eyes and complemented her hair perfectly. It was the lunging neckline and short skirt that was giving her doubts. Castle had suggested that if she was stumped for what to wear, all she needed to do was think 'what would Nikki Heat wear?' She found the comment to be helpful at the time, but was worried that she had followed the advice a little too literally.

As she walked down the red carpet her suspicions were confirmed as reporters cried, "Hey, its Nikki Heat!" She did her best to strut it for the cameras, but upon making eye contact with Castle she knew she had really played up her 'Nikki Heat' side too much. The man was literally drooling over her. His eyes shone with lust as his jaw dropped at the sight of her. Normally she would have been somewhat offended at Castle's blatant expression, but she found herself almost enjoying it. Appalled with the thought of enjoying Castle ogle her in a tight blue dress, she found the chief and made her way over.

"You clean up nice Detective" said the chief, bearing a welcoming and appreciative smile.

"Thank you sir."

"Castle is going to be happy to see you" grinned the chief, causing a quick flash of confusion to pass Kate's face. "Have you read the dedication?"

"No." she replied, turning to glance at the books. "What does it say?"

The chief smiled knowingly. Glancing back he replied, "Go see for yourself. 'Scuse me" and left Kate to curiously gaze toward one of the many stands containing various copies of the book.

* * *

Castle watched as Kate moved away from her conversation with the chief, and made her way towards a stack of books. Itching to speak with her, he excused himself from his company and began weaving his way through the crowd. About halfway there he was grabbed by the arm by his book agent, who was dressed in a pretty off the shoulder floral gown and gold chandelier earrings.

Following Castle's gaze she asked, "That's her?"

"That's her" he replied.

Somewhat smug the book agent continued. "Huh. That was one hell of a love letter you wrote her. Geez, one night in Beson and what do I get? A chapter in Storm Fall?"

Rick attempt to defend himself. "A very hot chapter"

"And she gets a whole book? She must be a pretty special girl." Rick couldn't help but glance over at Kate. She looked absolutely stunning tonight. The dress she had chosen complimented her perfectly, while leaving some to tease Rick's fantasies all night.

As the book agent sized up Beckett she asked Rick, "Let me ask you something. When she calls you do you call her back?"

"well, yah."

"Course you do, cause she's important to you, and it's polite." Rick suddenly understood were she was going with this. He stuttered in attempt to come up with an excuse.

"I call you back" came the weak reply.

"A three book deal, and I can't even get you on the phone to tell you got an official offer?"

"there's a.."

The book agent nodded. "So… can I close the deal?" She looked at Rick expectantly.

"Paula, I don't know. This is a big step for me. I don't know if I'm ready to walk away from Nikki Heat."

The book agent scoffed at Castle. "What the one on the page? Or the one standing over there in that Erve Legee dress?" She asked, indicating Kate.

" _The one standing over there_ " he wanted to say. Instead he replied, "The one on the page."

"Oh Rick, are you sleeping with her?" she said, shaking her head at him.

"No."

"Well then what the hell are you waiting for! Go get it out of your system and then come down to the office and sign the damn contract okay?" With a parting pat on the cheek Castle was left to admire Kate once more. He definitely had a decision to make.

* * *

As Kate finished skimming the back of the book she opened it to the dedication.

" _To the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12_ _th_."

She couldn't help but blush at his words. He had only called her extraordinary once before, and just like now it had made her feel things she didn't know she could; especially for a guy like Castle.

She felt his presence before she saw him. He came around her with a smile that could melt a dozen hearts right then and there.

"Hey."

"Hey" she replied, becoming slightly flustered in his presence. She managed to form a somewhat proper sentence. "I was just uh…the dedication was, wow. Thank you"

Castle smiled. "I meant it. You are extraordinary."

" _There it was_ " thought Kate. " _The one thing that makes we melt in his palm every time_." Embracing the warm fuzzies filling her insides she smiled happily at Rick.

"Listen, I've was thinking…"

Kate's mouth parted in anticipation. Was he actually going to admit he didn't want to leave her? That they still needed to get to know each other, write another book? Even though she had told him she'd be happy if he went off to write for a certain British agent, she couldn't help but feel neglected. Castle had seemed so attentive and flirtatious when they were together. He seemed to really like spending time with her. She had come to discover that she enjoyed their time together too. She'd be at home on the weekends praying for a murder case to see Castle, or for enough guts to ask him out for a drink. When he had told her about the book deal, she had acted relieved to be out of the job, but really all she wanted to do was beg him not to go. Maybe she wouldn't have to after all. If Rick was going to do what she hoped, maybe this could work out.

"What if the wife got onto the affair?" Kate's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Melissa Talbot? A killer?"

"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn." he cheekily replied.

Totally taken aback Kate attempted to form a logical reply. "Well…ah, anything's possible. I didn't see it that way."

Rick gave a slight humph at her response. "You're just saying that because you've never been scorned."

"What make's you say that?" she replied tugging gently on her lip with her teeth.

"Come on. What man has ever turned you away?" Castle laughed at the thought of someone turning Kate down. They'd be out of their minds to turn down a catch like her.

Kate couldn't help but think to herself, " _How bout you Castle. You've led me on, yet have never made a move_."

Collecting herself she thought it best to change the subject. "So, any word on a certain secret agent who shall not be named?"

Rick held a finger to his lips. "I got the official offer."

Kate did her best to fake her happiness. "Wow. Congratulations."

"I haven't accepted it yet."

"But you're going to aren't you?"

Castle looked curiously into her eyes. "So you think I should?"

"Well, yah. I mean, is there a reason why you wouldn't?" Kate searched Castle's eyes for a glimmer of hope to hold onto. " _Come on, Castle_." she thought. " _This is your chance, don't blow it."_

Castle took a deep breath before continuing. "As I'm sure you know this book deal is an amazing opportunity for me. I've loved him ever since I was a kid, and to hear that they were considering  _me_ to write books about him was amazing."

" _No!"_  thought Kate. " _He's taking the offer!"_

"But…I'm not ready to just yet to leave Nikki Heat. To leave you" Castle took Kate's hand as he awaited her response.

"Rick, I… don't know what to say."

Castle spoke gently, closing some of the distance between them so she could hear. "How about, I don't want you to leave either; I want you to write another Nikki Heat."

Kate smiled and squeezed his hand. "I don't want you to leave Rick. Please stay and write another book. Please stay with me, keep me company, and help me solve cases."

"As you wish my dear" replied Castle, as he lent in. He gently placed his lips upon hers, relishing the moment. Kate placed her hand upon the back of Rick's head and deepened the kiss, letting out a soft sigh of contentment.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to do that Castle?" teased Kate.

Castle smiled broadly back at her and lent in for another peck on the lips. "If it's been as long as I think, you've been waiting awhile." Kate nodded her agreement. Grabbing Castle's hand once more, the couple walked around the party engaging other friends in conversation, and meeting some new ones. After brief congratulations from Martha and Alexis the two decided to leave the hub of the party and make their way home.

* * *

As Castle drove to Kate's apartment, he couldn't help but wonder about what Kate had said about the kiss. She had always appeared happy with their professional friendship before, and every time Rick had attempted some sort of move she had held him at arm's length. Over time she had begun to break down some of her walls for him, but he had still never felt sure at what she wanted from him. The only reason he had enough courage to kiss her tonight was due to the threat of losing her. He still felt that there was so much more to know about her, so much more to learn. He couldn't just leave her after one book, not after the connection they had made. Though writing the other books would have been nice, he decided he was happy with his decision.

"Castle?" asked Kate, turning her head to look at him.

"Yes?"

"What are we going to do at work?"

Castle glanced over at her in confusion. "Solve cases?"

Kate smiled. "No. I meant about…us"

Castle reached out to take Kate's hand. "You really don't think the guys didn't see us at the party? You know Esposito and Ryan are going to be all over us on Monday."

"True" she laughed. "I don't know if I'm ready to just dive in to this in public though, you know?"

Rick glanced at her face once more. "I know. This is pretty new, and there's still a lot we need to learn about each other. Tell you what, how bout you go on being your usual beautiful bad ass cop self, and I'll be my usual wise ass best-selling author self, and we'll take it from there. Sound good?"

Placing her head upon Rick's shoulder she nodded in agreement. "That sound's excellent."

"Good"

"Oh and Rick?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yes Beckett?"

"Would you like to spend the night tonight?"


	3. Perfect Harmony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one shot is based upon Season 1, epsiode 9 "Little Girl Lost", when Beckett's ex comes back and she finds herself questioning her relationship with both Will and Castle. 
> 
> Rated M for smutty goodness!

As Kate watched Will leave she couldn't help but wonder about his request. If she really wanted to get back together with Will, she could. There was nothing really stopping her from trying again, accept…Castle. Though she hated to admit it, she was beginning to feel some serious feelings for the writer. When he had said that she could call him, even just to talk, she was astonished at his perceptiveness. He could tell that she was fighting mixed emotions over her feelings for Will and so he offered the thing she needed the most, a friend. Though he annoyed the crap out of her sometimes, he was constantly proving just how good a guy he really was.

Castle sat down across from Beckett in his usual chair, commenting on the departing FBI agent. "Nice guy. I can see how it wouldn't work though"

With a bemused smirk on her face, Kate replied, "Really?"

"Sure. Handsome, square jawed, by the book" he said giving Beckett a look.

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Yah he's like the male you." Kate shook her head, biting her lip to keep from smiling. "Ying needs Yang, not another Ying. Ying Yang is harmony" he said forming his hands in a circular motion to further describe his point. "Ying Ying is a name for a Panda." he cheekily replied.

Giving Castle an exasperated look Kate asked, "And who do you think would be better for me if not Will?"

Having had worked up to his goal, Castle grinned. "Me"

Kate looked over at Castle's face carefully. Was he asking her out? After Will just offered to start their relationship back up? After he had caught them kissing in the kitchen? She sighed and bit her lip nervously. Leave it to Castle to make things complicated.

"Are you implying we should go out?" she asked.

"Actually, yes. Why not?" he held his hands up in a questioning gesture.

"How bout the fact that we just worked a case with my ex boyfriend, who you saw me kissing in the kitchen, and the fact that I'm sure you know I'm totally confused on the matter."

Castle gave her one of his trademark grins. "Those are all the reasons why we  _should_  go out. You need a distraction from you past, time to think about your future." Castle's eyebrows rose playfully as he spoke the last part.

_He does have a point_  thought Kate. She needed a good distraction, and what was better then the annoying, yet extremely flirtatious and playful Castle? "Okay Castle, you win."

"Great!" he beamed. "I'll pick you up at eight. I want to take you somewhere nice, so dress up, but nothing too black tie okay?"

Smiling Kate agreed. "See you tonight Castle."

* * *

Castle was due in about an hour, and Kate was stuck trying to determine what to wear. Having already donned her best date underwear, a lacy black push-up bra and panty set, she was left to flick through her small collection of dresses. After narrowing it down to a few choices, she finally picked a beautiful red silk number. The dress had a fitted bodice that showed just the right amount of cleavage, and a fuller skirt that flowed beautifully off her hips. Picking out matching black peep-toe pumps she zipped up the dress and made her way into the bathroom to apply her makeup.

Just as she was spritzing on her favourite perfume a knock came at the door. Kate made her way over to the door, glancing at herself in the mirror on her way. Taking a deep breath she opened the door to a strikingly handsome Castle. Rick was wearing a well tailored black suit with a midnight blue shirt and matching striped tie. His black dress shoes were shined to perfection, and his best Castle smile was set on his face.

Once Kate had opened the door fully to let Rick in, Rick's expression changed from happy to lustful within seconds. His eyes slowly roamed her body as he took her in, lingering on her revealing cleavage and toned calves. Kate rather enjoyed the admiration at first, but the longer Castle looked the more uncomfortable she was becoming. She cleared her throat nervously, bringing Rick back to attention.

Training his gaze on her eyes he whispered, "Wow Kate" Beckett blushed. "You look absolutely breathtaking."

"You're not so bad yourself Castle" she flirtatiously replied.

"Yes, well I was dressing to impress, which isn't always an easy thing to do with a woman such as yourself." Beckett glared at Castle as she closed the door behind her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Rick could feel her tensing up, preparing to chastise him before the night even started.

"I just meant that you not one of those woman who are easily impressed by my money, fame or charm. You're a strong and independent woman, and you don't throw yourself at me like most women." said Castle, flashing Beckett a warm smile to further his point.

Beckett instantly calmed down and allowed herself to coyly smile back at Rick. "Would you like it if I threw myself at you Castle? Is that what you want out of this date?" She stepped closer to Castle to increase the tension she was creating.

Rick's mind instantly flooded with images of Kate writhing naked on his bed as he had his way with her. Slowly swallowing to regain his control he respectively answered, "This date can be whatever you want it to be Kate. There's no pressure here, you can just be yourself and relax" Kate seemed to breath a slight sigh of relief. "Although if you want this date to end up in bed I'm more than willing" he added. Kate rolled her eyes as Castle's sensitive side made way for his playfully flirtatious side.

Grabbing his hand they descended down the stairs and to his car, where he politely held the door open for her. The ride over was fairly quiet as they just enjoyed the comfortable warmth of each other's presence. Castle eventually pulled up to a beautiful Italian restaurant, on the East side of New York. Leaving the car with the parking attendant they made their way into the restaurant to be seated at the table Castle had specially reserved. As the waiter filled their water glasses and arranged a bountiful basket of breadsticks on their table, the couple settled into their seats and picked up their menus. The waiter took Castle's order for a bottle of red wine before leaving the two to decide what they wanted for dinner.

"This place is beautiful Castle, where'd you find it?" asked Kate.

"I've met my publisher here a few times. She has a very rich Italian background and absolutely loves this place."

Kate took a look over the menu, mouth beginning to water as she read the descriptions of each particular dish. "This all sounds so good. What are you getting?"

Rick took a second to scan the menu before deciding, "I think I'll try the veal parmesan with fettuccine alfredo. Their pasta alone is to die for, no doubt pasta  _and_  veal will literally send me to heaven." Beckett chuckled.

"I was debating between a few things, but I think I'll go with the angel hair pasta with grilled shrimp." Having decided on their meals, they placed the menus in a neat pile at the corner for the table and took a sip of their wine.

Kate desperately searched for what to say next, coming up with a feeble attempt to start the conversation. "So, that was quite a case we had today, very back and forth. I don't think we would have solved it, had you not made that connection with the bunny."

Castle grinned appreciatively. "Thanks Beckett that means a lot. Let's not talk about the case though, okay?"

Beckett nervously bit her lip. "What do you want to talk about then?"

"How bout we talk about you? How have you been outside of work?"

"You see me every day Castle, I'm not much different at home."

Castle gave her a dubious look. "I doubt that very much detective. I know you have a life besides work. I'm just curious as to what you do for fun."

"To be honest, when I'm not working I don't do a whole lot. I do laundry, run errands, read books. I don't get a whole lot of time to relax, so when I can I take advantage of it."

Castle and Beckett continued on throughout the rest of the meal, quietly speaking and learning about what made each other tick. A few times during the meal Rick made some inappropriate jokes, earning a trademark eye roll from Beckett, but he could tell she was enjoying herself. She was laughing and smiling more than he had ever seen her, and her skin was positively glowing with happiness. She looked simply magnificent in the candle light, and Rick couldn't help but admire her.

* * *

Kate was actually enjoying herself. She had expected Castle to tease her about Will, or talk about the work the whole time, but he had kept the conversation delightfully refreshing. They discussed fond memories of their childhood, their favourite things to do on the weekends, and what season they loved best. Castle talked about Alexis and Martha, and what it was like living with them, as well as some of his ideas for the Nikki Heat book that he had wanted to run by her. All in all, the date was going well.

Kate was completely at ease with Castle, and found herself frequently getting lost in their conversations. Every time he leaned closer to hear her, or his hand brushed hers, her heart thumped hard against her chest. At one point he leaned across to fix a strand of her hair and she thought she was going to faint. The Castle who helped her solve cases made her heart flutter, but this Castle made her heart simply melt. She had only ever begun to experience this with one other man, and that man had just moved back from Boston wanting to start up their relationship once more. She didn't want to think about Will though. As Castle had put it, Will was her past and she needed to put it behind her and focus on her future; which could contain Castle if she chose to let him in.

As they made the ride back Kate pondered over her dilemma. She had seen an entirely new side of Castle tonight, one she was seriously considering making apart of her present and possibly future. He had been charming and sweet, and very understanding. He hadn't pressured her into anything, and had provided her with a simply delicious dinner. The more she went over it, the more she found herself wanting to be closer to Castle. She reached over during the ride and took his hand lightly in hers. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before bringing it to his lips.

* * *

Soon enough they had reached Beckett's apartment door. Castle was standing as close he dared to Beckett, not wanting to cross the line that was beginning to blur between them.

"I had an amazing time tonight Castle. Thank you"

"Good, I'm glad. You deserved a night out, after everything that has been going on." Rick replied, with a rather pleased look upon his face,

Kate nodded thoughtfully. She took a deep breath in before turning to Castle to ask, "Rick, would you like to come in?"

Rick was taken aback for a second, but quickly recovered. Not wanting to blow any chance he had with Beckett he nodded and followed her into the apartment. They made their way into the bedroom, before Kate timidly brought her lips to his. Wanting to reassure her, Castle deepened the kiss, slowly tilting her back. She began shucking him of his jacket, and unbuttoning his shirt. Rick got as far as unzipping her dress before he stopped.

"Wait, Kate, are you sure about this?" he asked, scanning her eyes for uncertainty.

"Yes, Rick I'm sure" she replied, placing a kiss on his lips in attempt to continue. Rick carefully took her head between his hands and stared into her eyes.

"We've both had a lot of wine tonight, and you just had to deal with seeing your ex boyfriend again. I don't want to take advantage of you in any way Kate, the relationship we have between us is too important."

Kate sighed and looked down at Rick's chest. "You won't be taking advantage of me Castle. I do want this. Though tonight might be slightly influenced by the alcohol and my need for a rebound, it won't always be. I really like you Castle, and I want to see where this will take us."

Rick nodded in acknowledgement of what she had just said. "I really like you too Kate and I also want to see where this relationship will take us."

Kate smiled in relief. "I'm glad you agree Castle. Now hurry up and kiss me already" Rick didn't need to be told twice. He eagerly captured her lips in his, their tongues beginning to probe each other's mouths.

They quickly finished undressing before taking things to the bed. Rick began making a trail of kisses down Kate's neck, working his was down her chest and between her breasts. He expertly relieved her of her bra and began his ministrations on her breasts, licking and biting, pinching and twisting, causing her to moan in pleasure. Kate reached down to stroke Rick through the fabric of his boxers, eliciting a groan from deep within his throat.

It wasn't long before all garments were gone and Rick was teasingly kissing up Kate's thigh. "God Rick, just take me already" pleaded Kate, softly moaning as he drew nearer to her center.

Rick blew cold air across her heated sex before chuckling playfully. "Not yet love. You still haven't received the full Castle package." Kate's moans soon grew in intensity as Rick began circling his tongue around her nub, bringing her to an exquisite high. Just as she was nearing her climax, Castle pulled away.

Kate glared at him ferociously. "You better get over here and finish the job, or I'm going to put you in handcuffs and do it myself." she threatened.

Castle grinned mischievously. "Easy detective, let's save the bondage for next time shall we?" and with that he plunged himself deep within her depths. They worked slowly at first, gently rocking, discovering each other's preferences. As the desire grew heavier their pace increased until Rick was absolutely pounding into her, Kate rising to meet each thrust. They could feel their high's quickly approaching, and flipped over to speed up the process. Kate was now bouncing atop of Rick as he thrusted up within her. Kate steadied herself on Rick's chest as she reached her climax, screaming out his name. Rick followed with just a few pumps after and together they collapsed on the bed.

Slowly regaining the ability to breathe properly, the two turned took look at each other. Kate placed her hand upon Rick's cheek and smiled tenderly. "That was amazing Rick, thank you"

He grabbed her hand and kissed the palm softly. "Anytime detective, anytime." The couple buried down beneath the covers, turning on their side to snuggle into each other's arms, quickly falling asleep in their comfort.

**Please don't forget to review! Reviews make me happy, and me being happy provides more inspiration for me to write!**

**so review plz!**


	4. Late Night at the Precint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this one was inspired by a request made by DarkStiletto, to do the "you smell like cherries" scene from the episode Vampire Weekend. I also added in a reference to the coffee scene in One Man's Treasure. This one is a rated M fic, so naturally don't read if you don't want to.

Kate Beckett sighed as she attempted to make herself comfortable in her desk chair. It had been a long day, and she felt like she was getting nowhere. Her current case, involving a boy with veneer "fangs", and a man dressed as a werewolf, was getting weirder and more unbelievable every minute, only adding to her stress. She was currently waiting to hear back from Esposito on a possible lead, but it was getting late, and she really needed to go and de-stress.

Thankfully, Esposito showed up a few minutes later to hand her the file of one Morgan Lockerby. The man had been well known in the vampire circuit, but was said to have gone crazy when he actually began believing in his practices. Happy to have finally found a possible lead, Kate breathed a sigh of relief. As she began flipping through the file Esposito turned to ask, "Where's your shadow?"

Kate didn't need ask who he meant. It was pretty clear he was referring to Castle, and his lost puppy ways. The man constantly followed her around when they were working together. Though she had been slightly annoying when they first started, she had grown used to his presence, even found it kind of comforting at times. Not bothering to glance up from the file she replied, "I don't know. Last time I saw him he was still sifting through evidence from Crow's apartment." Esposito nodded in acknowledgement, and decided to bring up his real reason for beginning this conversation.

"So you going?"

Attempting to act clueless Beckett replied, "To what?"

"To his Halloween party!" he exclaimed, clearly not impressed with his superiors attempt at ignorance. Castle had been talking about his Halloween party all week, inviting almost everyone he knew at the precinct. He'd been on Beckett's case about getting a costume all week, and it drove him absolutely nuts not knowing whether she was even going to come. Unfortunately for Rick, Beckett loved Castle best when she had him wrapped around her little finger.

"I don't know; throws a lot of parties… you?"

Esposito staggered at the though of how much fun he was going to have at Castle's party. "Oh I'm all over that". Kate smirked at her colleague. Playing along she asked him what he was planning to wear. "Oh you want know? You gotta show. See what I got going on" he replied, using his hands for emphasis. Kate grinned, slightly shaking her head. The men at NYPD could be so much like teenage boys sometimes, she couldn't help but laugh. After all, it did help lighten the mood once and awhile.

Esposito retreated to his desk where he threw his coat on and picked up his things. "Anyway, I'm headed out for the night; gotta put the finishing touches on my costume before the party Saturday. I'll see you tomorrow"

Kate lifted a hand in good-bye. "Have a good one" she called as he left the office. Placing the file on her desk she looked around to find the office completely empty. She noticed some of the overnight cop's office lights on, on the other side of the precinct, but other than that, most had left for the night. Having not heard Castle leave, she walked down the hall peering into the rooms as she walked past, finally finding him in one of the small evidence rooms at the end of the hall. His suit jacket was draped on the back of his chair, and his feet placed up on the desk in attempts to get comfortable. His hair was slightly mussed and his face was drawn in concentration as he appeared to be pouring over a large book. Kate couldn't help but think how adorable Castle looked when he was reading. He was eagerly flipping to the next page as she approached him. Kate jumped up onto the desk knocking his feet off playfully with her bum. "Hard on the case Castle?" she asked.

"On the case of a good read. It's actually not that bad"

Beckett held up Lockerby's file. "Esposito found Morgan Lockerby" Castle's face lit up with recognition. He quickly flipped through the comic book, until finding the desired page.

"You mean Morlock" he replied, showing Beckett Crow's comic version of Lockerby.

Kate leaned in to get a better look at the picture in Castle's hand. Her hair fell from her shoulder, sending wafts of her perfume towards Rick's nose. He quietly inhaled the scent, delighting in its familiarity. "You smell like cherries" he breathed, attempting to take more of her in.

Kate turned her head to face Rick, their lips only inches apart. "Do you like the smell of cherries Castle?" she asked, training her seductive gaze upon him. She could feel the sparks flying between them, as her heart began to race with their closeness.

"I like the taste of them better" he replied before he enveloped her in his kiss. Kate's hand grabbed Rick's cheek, as she accepted his kiss and leaned in closer. She could feel his tongue probing at her mouth, and she hurriedly decided to grant him access. The couple continued to kiss, their tongues dancing, their bodies slowly wrapping each other in their warm embrace.

Castle finally broke the kiss to look down at what little space was between them. Somehow during their kiss, Kate had left his side and was now straddling his lap. He could feel his erection beginning to rise, and didn't want Kate to be so close if she didn't want to go that far. He was worried that if she ground into him too much he wouldn't allow her to leave. Their relationship was too delicate, and too important to ruin it for one night of hot office sex.  _Really_  hot, naughty, office sex. Castle groaned inwardly at the thought, as he began to become even harder.

Beckett giggled as she felt Rick's need begin pressing into her butt. "Having a little problem there Rick?" she asked playfully. Castle blushed slightly, moving her slightly away from him. Kate kissed him again, this time much harder, as she moved forward to ground into him.

Castle let out a low groan. "God Kate, don't do that." he hissed through his teeth.

Beckett immediately stopped in confusion. "Don't you want me?" she said, her voice holding a slight tinge of sadness.

Sensing her worries, Rick quickly placed a peck on her lips. "It's not that, believe me" he said. "It's just that, if we keep going, I don't think I can stop."

Kate shimmed up close, placing her chest against his, her lips just brushing him. "What makes you think I want to stop Castle?" She ran her hands down his chest, as he shivered in response. Castle grabbed her ass, as she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off of him. As she flipped open his belt buckle, he reached for her shirt, bringing it up to her neck. She took the initiative to completely remove her shirt while he made quick work of her bra.

Bra gone, Castle's lips attached themselves to the small pink bud on her right breast. Beckett moaned in delight as he nibbled, teasing her other breast in his palm. He moved his head up to suckle her collarbone as Kate finished her work on his pants. They stood briefly to rid themselves of any remaining clothing, before colliding back together in a fiery embrace.

Rick placed Kate up on the desk in front of him and began kissing her belly button, slowly teasing her as he traveled lower. He hovered for several minutes, kissing and nibbling her tummy and inner thighs, each time narrowly missing where she wanted him most. "Castle!" Kate cried in frustration.

"Yes?" he replied, with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Stop teasing! I need you in me now!" she cried, grabbing his face for a fierce kiss. She released him only to bite his lip and dig her nails into his shoulders, causing him to groan and the mix of pain and pleasure.

After a moment Beckett heard the words she'd been waiting to here, "As you wish detective" With Castle's help she hoped off the desk into his lap, slowing sinking down over him. They hissed at the feeling, his thick shaft stretching her tight canal. They began with a slow pace, preferring to learn each other's likes and dislikes. Rick continued to pump slowly in and out of Kate, until she began to wiggle signalling for more. Their pace steadily increased, until Kate was bouncing atop of Rick as he thrusted up into her with all his force. Within minutes they were both brought to a screaming climax, crying out each other's names in delight.

Kate sighed, her glistening body coming to rest against Rick in the chair. She laid her head upon his shoulder, as he stroked her hair contentedly. "That was…" she began, not sure how to describe what had just happened.

Castle offered some adjectives. "Amazing? Hot? Simply incredible?" Kate laughed.

"Any of those will do" she replied with a smile. Glancing at the clock on the wall she realized just how late it was. She gave Castle a quick peak before dismounting him. She began redressing herself as she threw Castle's clothes to him. "It's getting pretty late Castle, Alexis and Martha will worry."

Now it was Castle's turn to look at the clock. "Oh, yah I better go, but shouldn't we discuss this?" Kate finished fully redressing herself before replying.

"We can discuss it tomorrow Castle, there's no rush. I'll see you in the morning okay?" Castle nodded and followed the detective towards the door. With a parting kiss the two went their separate ways.

* * *

The early morning sun was shining through the precinct windows into the coffee room where Castle was doing his best to prepare lattes. Beckett had met him there this morning to discuss their current "situation". After much talk it was decided that they would try out a relationship, but to keep it under wraps while at work. Castle was now in the works of trying to impress Kate with his latte making skills.

Kate watched in anticipation as Rick poured the coffee and reached for the milk. As the machine turned the milk into a frothy mixture the bubbles popped, splashing hot milk on Rick's hand. Kate couldn't help but laugh, as she watched him blow on his injured hand.

"Come here and let Katie make it all better" she said holding her hand out, beckoning for him. Placing his hand in hers he blew gently on it before placing a feather light kiss upon it.

"Not bad Beckett. Care to play doctor?" asked Castle with a cheeky grin on his face. Kate stood up to his level as she rolled her eyes. "Maybe another time Castle" she said, leaning in for a quick kiss.

As they pulled apart, Ryan and Esposito walked into the break room, taking in their close quarters. "Did we interrupt something?"

Beckett and Castle glanced at each other, "Crap"


	5. Coffee Induced High

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This particular fanfic is based off of the most recent episode of Castle, "The fifth bullet". There are a lot of hints in the episode towards a possible relationship forming b/w Becks and Castle, and this scene just seemed to spark something within me. This fic is rated "T", because I didn't feel the need to put in any smut and such. It is meant to be short and sweet, a savoury moment between the two. Anyway hope you like it, and as always plz review!
> 
> Disclaimer: I never remember to do this but, since i actually did, I don't own Castle or any of it's amazing characters!

Coffee Induced High

Detective Kate Beckett was deep in conversation with her fellow investigators Esposito and Ryan. They had just discovered that they had a key witness to their case; unfortunately he had no clue who he was. The witness had been supposedly suffered some sort of trauma during the event and was suffering from amnesia. It seemed that any tiny stride they made towards solving this case, ending up putting them three steps behind. After telling Esposito and Ryan to check the coat for GSR, blood and other useful evidence she got up from her desk rounding the corner quickly. Not looking where she was going, she collided head first into her quirky partner, novelist Rick Castle.

Hot coffee splashed painfully down the front of Beckett's white blouse, thoroughly soaking her, as she yelped in surprise. Castle stared in astonishment as he continued to hold two coffee mugs in his hand. "I brought you coffee" he said, doing his best to keep his gaze upon her face and not the rapidly becoming transparent shirt front.

"Thank you Castle" she replied, sighing at her ruined shirt. She gently plucked it away from her skin as she grabbed her coat and raced off to the nearest washroom she could find. Seeing the sign for the co-ed single washroom up ahead she quickly retreated into its windowless safe haven to attempt to clean up the mess.

Closing the door behind her, she made her way over to sink, where she grabbed a few paper towels from the dispenser and began to use them to soak up some of the coffee. After getting rid of the excess liquid, she wetted a few and began wiping the large brown spot on her blouse. Though she did the best that she could, the stain was not lessening and she was only proceeding to make her shirt even wetter. Unbuttoning her shirt to her belly button, she attempted to get at it from underneath, when she felt of whoosh of air as the bathroom door opened.

Castle burst through the door, head down as he rambled, "Beckett, I'm so sorry, I was just trying to help…" The door swung shut behind Castle as Beckett stopped her work.

"Castle!" she screamed, "what are you doing in here!" It wasn't until then that Castle chose to look up at Beckett. Her face was red with embarrassment, or possibly anger, he couldn't tell, and her once white blouse was covered in a large brown stain. The blouse was open down to her bellybutton, revealing her white lace bra, the wet fabric clinging to her suggestively. Castle could only stutter in response as he took in their current situation.

"I… uh, came to apologize…" Beckett sighed, glancing down at the paper towel in her hand. Knowing her attempts at salvaging the shirt were hopeless she threw the towel on the countertop and looked up at Castle. As she looked up into his face, she couldn't help but giggle at him. He was desperately trying to not look at her exposed torso, but every time to tried to look away his desire to look at her would win and he would continue to follow her curves. Receiving no discouragement from Beckett, he finally allowed himself a good look, eyes raking over every curve of her body. Beckett shivered, seeing his eyes grow dark with lust.

Her shiver caused Castle to glance up at her with a questioning look. "Are you cold Beckett?" He immediately moved towards her, shucking off his suit jacket and draping it over her shoulders.

Kate smiled gratefully. "Thanks Castle. These washrooms are kinda drafty, which doesn't help a girl with a wet shirt out." She smiled once more at her attempt to joke. Castle smiled back and came to stand beside her, using his hands to create friction on her arms, as he rubbed them up and down over the coat. Beckett leaned into him, gathering herself in his warmth. Castle continued to rub her arm, but his hand slowed, rubbing more for comfort than for heat.

As Kate inhaled the unique scent that was Richard Castle, she couldn't help but sigh in contentment. "Enjoying our hug Beckett?" Castle asked with a slightly teasing tone in his voice.

Beckett nuzzled his neck ever so slightly. "Actually, yes. I never knew you were so comfortable Castle." The couple chuckled, Castle bringing her closer in his embrace.

"I really am sorry about the shirt Kate. I can buy you a new one if you'd like."

Kate pushed herself slightly away so she could look into his eyes. "It's okay Castle, I know it was an accident. The shirt's really not important."

Castle flicked his eyes over hers, before finally nodding his head. "Kate there's something I've been meaning to tell you" he said, still holding eye contact.

She could feel her breath catch at his words. Though she tried not to show it too much around her colleagues, her feelings for Castle had greatly developed, and there were days in which she yearned for moments like this. "Yes, Castle? What did you want to say?"

Rick took a deep breath before speaking. "As you might have guessed, I've been attracted to you for quite some time now." Kate's eyebrow shot up incredulously. That was a bit of an understatement.

"Go on…"

"Though I automatically felt that physical connection with you, I've feel like I've really gotten to know you as a person over the past several months. You've been kind enough to let me in, and show me some sides of you I would never have known. So, anyway, what I'm trying to say is thank you. Thank you for putting up with all my childish comments, and my constants prying. You've been very patient, and I love you for it."

Kate smiled, her eyes shining with tears as she listened to what Rick had to say. Seeing her tears, Rick used his thumb to brush it gently away from her eye. Kate tenderly placed her hand on his cheek as she leaned in to place her lips upon his. The kiss was slow and loving, full of emotion and meaning. As she pulled away she gazed into Rick's eyes, as a single tear flowed from her eye. "I love you too Castle."


	6. Burgers at Remy's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is based off another amazing episode last night, "The Third Man". It starts with the ending scene and makes reference to the scene when they're waiting for the delivery guy to show up for his cheque. If you haven't already seen this episode I highly suggest you do! And while your at it go watch 2X12 and 2X13 because they were as equally amazing!
> 
> Disclaimer: I never remember these things, but I don't own Castle or any of it's characters. I won't say I want to own it, cause the writers and producers are doing such a good job already, why bother?

Castle stomach grumbled as he listened to Beckett. "Ah, man. I can't wait to go home and slip into a warm bath."

"I..." Castle began in response, before Beckett cut him off.

"Don't. please? Don't" She clearly had been expecting some sort of childish innuendo, and really was not in the mood to hear it.

"I was just going to say I'm starving. We left the restaurant before I could finish my entree." Beckett nodded in understanding.

"Yah, well it's wouldn't have mattered anyway. The portions were tiny."

"Yah" agreed Castle. That was the downside to eating upscale, you always left hungry afterwards. "You know Remy's is open all night, and they've got those burgers..."

"Oh and those shakes" added Beckett, closing her eyes in remembrance of the rich creamy goodness that was a Remy's shake. Castle smiled at her reaction and reached over to grab her garment bag. He gently draped it over his forearm, and held out his arm for her to grab. Kate hesitated for a moment before threading her arm through his. A bright grin spread across her face as she said "Oh why not?" Castle mumbled knowingly as he turned to lead them towards the elevator. Kate walked closely beside him, subconsciously twirling her hair with her finger.

"So how was your date?" asked Kate. Castle took a moment to consider before grimacing slightly. "She was kinda boring. Didn't talk much." Kate scoffed in understanding, secretly glad to hear his date went as bad as hers did. "Mr. July?"

"He was kinda self absorbed." she replied, as Castle's mind was going  _"knew it!"_

"He looked it."

"Really?"

"Can tell." The couple know entered the elevator and briefly separated as Kate reached to press the floor button. "You know some people just don't know how to behave on a date"

"Especially on a first date" Kate added.

"Exactly!" exclaimed Castle as the elevator doors slowly closed in front of them.

* * *

Castle and Beckett arrived at Remy's shortly after, her hands still wrapped securely around his arm. She knew she should have probably let go by now, but was enjoying the warmth radiating of his body, and their closeness far too much to care. They were seated in a cozy little booth in the back, with warm lighting and dinner style memorabilia surrounding them. The waiter came and took their order, and returned a little while later to place the steaming food in front of them.

"Mmmm" said Castle as he sniffed his cheeseburger and fries. "This smells amazing"

Kate smiled warmly at Castle and licked her lips. Inhaling the greasy delicious smell of her own burger she replied, "Yum that does smell good. Nothing better than a late night burger at Remy's after solving a case." She eagerly filled her mouth with fries as Castle bit into his burger. The burger was so large and jam-packed, that as he bit into it a drop of mustard fell onto his tie. Kate giggled as she watched the whole thing unfold. Castle could be such a klutz sometimes it was almost too cute.

Castle watched in fascination as Kate reached over with her napkin to gently swipe away the mustard from his tie. Kate noticed him watching her and hesitated for a moment, poised slightly over the table. Her eyes connected with his and took note of their close proximity. They held each other's gaze for a few seconds until Kate finally blushed and sat back down. Ever since they had left the station, Kate had felt this giddy feeling building within her, driving her insane as to why she would be feeling this, with Richard Castle no less. Their gaze connecting like that had sent an electric shock straight through her body, causing her heart to thump loudly against her chest. After nervously glancing up at a smirking Castle she continued to eat her meal, becoming lost within her food.

After a few minutes of munching, Castle finally broke the silence. "This is the type of place I pegged you for." Kate glanced up in slight confusion, before recalling their conversation earlier in the Newspaper's press room. Having caught her attention, Castle continued. "Sure Drago is nice and all, but this place is so much more cheerful and warm. Don't get me wrong, you looked fabulous in that dress, but I picture you as more of a cozy booths, simple food, and warm atmosphere kinda gal." Kate smiled as Castle continued to speak, "A place like Remy's is a perfect place for our first date."

Kate's grin widened. "Date Castle? You think we're on a date?" Castle's smile quickly dropped, being replaced by a look of astonishment.

"Did…did I say date?" he replied nervously. "I was merely talking hypothetically…" Kate laughed and placed a hand on top of his in a comforting gesture.

"Relax, Castle I was just teasing. All though I'm flattered to know you've thought about dating me, and not just trying to get me into bed." as she finished her sentence she shot a look Castle's way.

Castle's grin returned and he turned his hand, now holding hers in his own. Kate's heart rate increased slightly at his gesture, but she continued to remain composed. "I still remember our 'one and done' conversation from that Nanny case you know. Despite what the tabloids say, I'm not all about one night stands and party flings. I enjoy being in relationships, especially if it was one with you." Kate's felt her cheeks flare at his words. Castle was saying all the right things tonight, and it was becoming increasingly hard not to just jump over the table and kiss him right then and there.

"I'm flattered Castle, thank you."

Castle smiled, gently squeezing her hand. "Anytime detective, anytime." Noticing they had almost finished their meals he waved for the check. After paying the bill and leaving a rather generous tip, Castle hailed a cab to take Beckett home.

* * *

Having arrived at Beckett's front door, Kate turned to take the garment bag from Castle. "You know you really didn't have to accompany me up to my apartment Castle, I would have been fine on my own."

"I know" he replied. "But I wanted to." Castle spoke earnestly as he gazed into the detective's eyes. "I had a great time tonight Kate, and even though this isn't a date, feel free to give me call whenever you're lonely okay?"

Kate nodded as a smile spread across her face. "I had a great time too Castle, and yes, even though this wasn't a date, I enjoyed it way more than my actual date with Brad."

Castle stepped slightly closer before speaking, "So is that a maybe?"

Kate laughed and gave him her signature eye roll. "That's a we'll see Castle. Don't forget we work together"

Castled grinned mischievously as the gap between them began to close. "Well maybe this can convince you otherwise" His lips closed the remaining distance between them and gently crushed against hers. His hands came up to her face as he deepened the kiss, putting ever inch of his excitement and longing into it. Kate felt a moan rise within her throat and her knees begin to buckle.

Just when she thought she'd collapse Rick released her from his grasp. He stepped back to take in her flushed face. She was panting slightly, and her expression was a mixture of astonishment and desire. Grinning Castle turned to retreat. "Goodnight detective, sweet dreams."


	7. Catching the Bouquet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This particular one-shot is based off of season 2's episode "A Rose for Everafter". There are so many scenes in that episode that have been bugging me to write something, so I decided to finally give in. I'll be honest its not my best work, but I think it still is pretty good.  
> This one is is tame, just some fluffy goodness to enjoy.

Kate and Castle were currently sitting at the bar of Castle's first love's wedding. After solving the case, Castle and Kiera had sorted out their feelings and the couple had been invited to witness the happy occasion. Though Kate had been a bit hesitant to attend the wedding with Castle, she agreed and they had driven over in her car. The ceremony had been simple, since many of the guests were unable to stay. Kiera had shed her long sparkling, strapless wedding gown in favour of a cream and black cocktail dress, and her husband wore a simple black suit instead of a tux. Several bouquets of flowers donned the spacious room, and the guests watched from specially placed gold chairs. All in all the wedding had been simple, sweet and relatively uneventful. Kate had been to many weddings in her day, and was pleased that there had been no drama. There was one thing though that set this wedding apart from the others though; something other than the fact that it was Castle's lost love's wedding. This was the first wedding she had been to that she had actually caught the bouquet.

Okay, so the bouquet had been kind of thrown at her, but still,  _she_  had caught it. She was the lucky bachelorette who had caught the symbol of future happiness with that special someone. Though she knew that the traditional catching of the bouquet didn't really mean she was about to be married, it gave her a warm feeling inside to think that fate might be telling her something.

After the ceremony, the guests had joined the newlyweds in the next room for the reception, to drink, dance and celebrate the new union. After congratulating the new pair, Castle and Beckett had retreated to the bar. An hour had passed since they had sat down and Kate was becoming restless. Sensing this Castle leaned closer and spoke. "Did you want to get out of here?" Kate turned to look at Castle with relief in her eyes.

"Yes please. What did you have in mind?" Castle considered her question a moment before giving a response.

"How bout we go out for a bite to eat? Nothing too fancy, maybe an Olive Garden or something."

Kate smiled at the proposition. "Sounds delicious. Do you mind if we stop at my apartment first though? I'd like to change into something more casual, scrub a bit of this make-up off." Had this been Castle's first time at Beckett's apartment he might have been jumping for joy at the prospect of seeing it; but this was not his first time. Castle had been fortunate enough to visit Kate's apartment twice before, the first was to return something she had left behind at his place, and the second when she had invited the Castle family over for dinner in gratitude of all they did for her.

"That's fine. Its only 5 o'clock, I can wait another hour or two to eat."

"Great" she replied, thankful that he hadn't made such a big deal about it as he had the first two times. The two threw down a few bills for the drinks and proceeded to grab their coats and settle into Beckett's car.

The way over was pretty silent, Kate focusing on the road ahead of her. Castle was content to stare out the window, and her newly gained bouquet was nestled safely in her purse.

When they arrived at the apartment Castle watched as she opened the door and waited patiently for her to enter. He was still fairly new to the space and didn't want her to think he thought he could just waltz in. Kate dropped her purse and coat on the bench beside the door and walked immediately towards the bedroom.

"Make yourself at home Castle, I might be a while. Just try not to rummage through my stuff okay?" she called behind her, already striping her body of her blouse and trousers.

Castle followed Beckett's instructions and shrugged off his coat and shoes. Settling into her modest and comfy couch he turned on the TV and began flipping channels. He heard the shower start up behind him, and struggled to fight off images of a naked Beckett lathering herself up. Looking around the room for a distraction his eyes settled on the bouquet nestled in Kate's purse. Not wanting to damage the flowers she had tucked the stems into the bag, and left the delicate white and pink petals to appear to be bursting out, nestled among a cushion of deep green leaves. Castle got up from the couch and carefully pulled the bouquet from its perch. As stunned as Kate had been to catch the bouquet, she clearly held some affection for it. Castle quickly decided to find a vase and put them in some water for her, hoping that she would appreciate the gesture.

Pausing to insure the shower was still running Castle began rummaging through her cupboards in search of a vase.

* * *

As Kate scrubbed herself clean her thought drifted back to the wedding, more importantly the bouquet. Though she had denied it to Castle, she had been dreaming of her wedding day ever since she was a little girl. The dress, the flowers, the decorations, all her friends and family gathered to celebrate her special day.

Just as Kate was imaging walking down the aisle towards her soon to be husband, she heard a bang.  _Castle,_  she thought.  _No doubt rummaging through my stuff. Good thing all the stuff I don't want him to see is tucked safely under my bed._ Kate heard another softer bang, as Castle attempted to close a cupboard door without making as much noise as before.  _That man is so nosy. He's lucky he's so damn cute, our he'd have been punished severely by now for going through my things._

Knowing her secrets were safe, Kate attempted to return to her daydream. She closed her eyes as the image of her in a shimmering white gown made its way down the aisle, her arm safely linked with her fathers. As she grew closer to the alter she looked up into the piercing blue eyes of her future hus... _wait what? Why the hell is Castle in my wedding fantasy, as my husband!_ Kate quickly shook her head. That couldn't be right. Whenever she had looked at the face of her future husband it was usually a combination of your standard hard working guy and a Tommy Hilfiger underwear model. She had never actually pictured a real man's face before, let alone someone who she wasn't even dating.

Kate knew that she had feeling for Castle. As much as she wanted to deny them, it was hard to ignore the sparks that flew between them whenever they were together. Lanie had already made it clear that she was aware of Kate's feelings, and apparently Kiera had seen them to, given her "he's all yours" comment. Though she'd never admit it to anyone, she had contemplated what life would be like dating Castle. They would be together a lot more, meaning she could visit Martha and Alexis on a more frequent basis. She'd actually have something to do on a Friday or Saturday night instead of sitting at home re-reading his books in the bath. Not to mention the sex. Ever since reading that sex scene in  _Heat Wave_ Kate had been having very detailed love scenes between her and Castle playing in her mind. There were days where he got her so hot and bothered she had had trouble restraining herself from jumping him right then and there.

Though she had pictured life with Castle as a couple, she had never ventured into the realm of marriage; that is until now. If she ever did marry Castle one day she knew it would be far into the future. Rick had already been through two divorces, and she knew neither would be comfortable about just jumping into it. As she continued to wash herself, she allowed her mind to consider Castle as her husband. She actually found it surprisingly easy, picturing a slightly older and happier Castle then the one she knew now. She could see coming home to him every night, sleeping in his arms. After years of living alone she was pretty sure she'd like living with the Castle's, appreciating having that built in support system there during her rough cases. She could see Castle and Alexis lounging on the couch watch TV, Castle playfully bouncy a baby boy on his knee. Kate's inner voice chimed in,  _Okay, hold up just a second there Katie, a baby? You're not even dating this man and your thinking about having kids with him?_ She knew it was talking things a bit far, but oddly enough the thought of children with Castle didn't scare her. Kids just seemed to go with the idea of marrying him.

* * *

Thoughts of Castle still on her mind, Kate finished dressing herself and made her way towards her living room. She paused just in the entry way, gazing at the sight before her. Castle was sprawled out comfortably on the couch, pizza box resting on the table in front of him. In the center of the table was her flowers placed in a delicate glass vase, accompanied by the presences of two plates and glasses. Kate couldn't help but smile at how comfortable he looked in her home. Maybe being in a relationship with Castle wouldn't be as complicated as she thought.

Sensing her presence Castle pulled himself up to look at her. "Sorry about ordering pizza without your permission. You were taking forever and I was hungrier than I thought. If you're not comfortable with us eating here we can take this to my place, or somewhere less private." He was worried he had overstepped his boundaries. To his relief Kate's eyes crinkled with laughter as she came to rest beside him.

"I should have known you couldn't wait that long. I don't mind staying here Castle, just don't make a habit of it" Kate said, with mock sternness in her voice. Castle's eyes scrunched as he grinned his famous Castle grin and reached for the pizza. The two dug in, settling back into the couch to watch the last part of the game.

By the time the pizza was finished the game had come to the end. Castle helped Beckett clean up the dishes, and then was left to awkwardly stand against her counter to await further instructions. Kate could feel Castle waiting for her to tell him whether he should leave now or not. It still wasn't too late and if she was honest with herself she had been enjoying his company. Deciding to for once just follow her gut rather than her head, she told Castle he could stay.

"Really?" he asked, caution clear in is voice.

Kate chuckled at his carefulness. "Yes you can stay. Not the night, but at least until 10 or so. How about a movie?" She watched as Castle's shoulders relaxed and his watchful eyes filled with happiness.

"That sounds great. Pick whatever you want." Kate's eyebrow rose in shock.

"Since when do you not have an opinion as to what movie is watched?" Castle grinned mischievously.

"Since I was hoping to be too busy making out with you to be paying attention to the movie" he cheekily replied. Kate felt her cheeks burn as she hurled a pillow at his head.

"Very funny Castle. Behave yourself or I'll send you packing." Kate had attempted to sound serious about her threat to throw him out, but couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face as she looked at him. She quickly popped in a DVD and settled herself on the couch, mere inches from Castle.

They sat in silence for the first half of the movie, watching intently the story unfolding before them. When the movie reached a more romantic moment, Kate felt Castle's arm slide to rest on the couch behind her. He was too nervous to physically place his arm on her shoulders, so he had settled for in the general proximity instead.

Kate subconsciously rolled her eyes at him. She felt like a teenager on a first date when he did that. Surprising both herself and Castle, she brought his arm down towards her and nestled into his side. She felt him tense briefly in shock before relaxing his body against her. He cuddled closer to her and gently squeezed his arm against her waist.

As the movie went on they became increasingly comfortable. Kate's head came to rest upon Castle's chest as she lay curled up on the couch. Castle had his feet placed on the table in front of him and his arm draped loosely across her. After a while of sitting like this Kate found herself drifting towards sleep. Not wanting to lose the warmth and comfort Castle was providing she didn't bother getting up and turning off the movie. She instead allowed her eyes to close for what was meant to be a brief moment.

Minutes after the movie ended Castle let out a great yawn. Using the remote to turn off the movie, he leaned down to look at Kate. She was sleeping peacefully against his chest, a slight whistling sound coming from her nose the only sign she was sleeping and not dead. Castle smiled as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. Texting a message to Alexis to let her know he wasn't coming home tonight, he settled back into the cushions and quickly fell asleep.


	8. I'm Here to Protect You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off of scenes from Tick, Tick and Boom. Rated K+

Kate slowly picked at her Chinese takeout as she read the latest article about their case in the paper. Ever since the FBI took jurisdiction over their Nikki Heat stalker case almost every step they made was plastered on the front page of the  _Times_.

Just as she was getting into the reporter's description of Castle's stun gun takedown, a loud creak echoed through her apartment. She tensed, listening as yet another creak sounded.  _Someone was outside._  Quietly getting up, she opened her dresser draw and withdrew her gun. Gun raised she carefully approached the door. With careful fingers she removed the chain lock and threw it wide, her gun thrusted into the air, ready to shoot the at a moment's notice. What she had been expecting was a weasel of a man with a cynical expression on his face, and instead she found a scared looking writer clutching a bottle of wine. "Castle?"

Castle quickly attempted to recover, holding his wine with a flourish. "Wine?"

* * *

Kate had resumed her position on the couch and was now giving the case file another look over. Castle had already found the wine glasses, and was pouring the deep red liquid into two glasses. "So what happened to your security detail, I didn't see anyone outside."

"I sent them home after I got in" Kate replied, very nonchalant. Castle looked up from his task to give her a look. He clearly was not impressed. "What?" Castle made a slight gesture indicating a silent  _you know very well what._  Kate chose to brush it off. "The windows are locked, the doors are locked, I'm armed." Though she wasn't directly stating Castle knew it was her way of saying " _relax, I'm superwoman remember?"_  Castle decided against arguing and brushed it off with a shrug.

Kate turned away from Castle and went back to reading the case file. "So our guy killed the others where they were found" sher brow furrowed as she chewed on her lip. "Why not this girl? Why not just leave her in the garage where we'd find her."

"He's changing it up." Castle strode over to the couch, two glasses in his hand.

"Or this victim is special." Castle took a seat and held out a glass of wine for Beckett. She took a quick glance before refusing. "Oh no thanks"

Castle wasn't going to give up that easy. "No, no no, Agent Shaw said we needed to decompress. Nothing decompresses like a 2000 Chateau neuf de pub."

Beckett's face suddenly began to lighten, a teasing expression just behind her eyes. She reached over and took the glass. "Oh well if Special Agent Shaw said so" she said sarcasm dripping from her voice as she performed a classic Beckett eye roll and raised the glass in a slight toast. Castle was quick to notice her tone.

Titling his head he gave her yet another questioning look. "What is that supposed to mean?" Beckett smiled as innocently as possible.

"Nothing. I just see the way you listen to her. The way you look at all her fancy equipment. Now my murder boards not enough for you, now you need a smart board?" Her eyes narrowed slightly at the smart board comment. Suddenly Castle realized why she was acting funny.

"Are you jealous?" It was meant as a question but came out almost as an accusation. Castle had hit the nail right on the head. Beckett was so used to being the woman in charge, she wasn't happy that she had to give up that power; especially to someone with so much more resources. It was bad enough that she had to give up control on the case, but she had to give up Castle's admiration for a little while to. The only other time she had seen Castle this impressed of someone was her, and when she saw that expression on his face when he talked to Shaw needless to say she was not happy.

"I'm not jealous. I'm just embarrassed by the way you act like a 10 year old all impressed by her data matrix." Castle couldn't help but scoff halfway through her sentence.  _She was so jealous._  "Oh it collates data so quickly Agent Shaw, tell me all about it."

Castle looked at Beckett in disbelief. Shaking his head at her he replied, "You are ridiculous."

Kate chose to ignore Castle's comment; she was already on a roll and didn't want to lose it. "Oh and to top it off you are now building theory with her."

"So?"

The thoughts went off rapid fire in her brain before she continued, "So you're supposed to be building theory with me, you're supposed to be on my team." In other words,  _your mine._

Castle looked like he was growing more confused as she went on. "But I thought we were on the same team?"

 _Crap._ She thought.  _He got me on that one._ "We are, it's just I think if you have an insight you should run it by me first." That way Castle's great ideas came out of her mouth, before Agent Shaw could claim them.

"Fine then I will. Now drink you wine."

Kate looked down at her forgotten glass. "Thanks, but I'm tired and I need to go to bed" Her arm swept to the left in a 'that's your queue to leave' motion. Castle had been expecting this moment to come. He was hoping not so soon, but you got what you got. He had already decided he was going to stay, no matter what she said. A mad man was on the loose because of his stories, and he wasn't going to leave her alone without any other source of protection.

"Oh no, I'm not leaving. I'm here to protect you." Castle did his best to sound as serious as possible.

Kate's mouth perked up in amusement. "With what, your vast arsenal of rapier wit?"

"There is a mad men gunning for you because of me. I am not going to leave you alone." Kate's jaw had tensed slightly during Castle's words but she quickly realized she didn't have the strength or will power to argue.

"Okay fine. I'm too tired to argue. But I will have you know Mr. Castle, I sleep with a gun." She warned, making sure to give him a pointed look.

Castle smiled both in victory and understanding. "Understood" he said, before pouring Kate's untouched wine into his own and setting back down into the sofa.

* * *

It was nearly one o-clock in the morning, and Kate still couldn't get to sleep. Her thoughts had been muddled already by the case, and now the added excitement and terror of having Castle sleeping on her living room couch wasn't helping. Feeling her dry mouth, she decided to get up for a drink and maybe a midnight snack. Tip-toeing ever so carefully she slipped out her door, moving as quickly and quietly as she could, trying not to make a sound. She heard Castle shift on the couch and she froze, her entire body tensing. She slowly turned to look at Castle to see if she was caught. What she saw was her adorable partner curled up on the couch, mouth hanging wide. Kate fought to stifle a giggle, before moving on to the fridge.

She opened the door quietly and began rummaging for something good to drink. After moving aside at least half a dozen takeout containers she came across the can of beer she had been looking for. She knew it was probably not the best thing to be drinking at one o'clock in the morning, but she needed the alcohol to calm her nerves. She closed the fridge door and turned, walking straight into the chest of the man standing behind her. Instead of letting out a shriek like most woman, Kate punched the man in the face hard, hearing a satisfying crunch as her fist made contact with his nose. The man let out a loud yelp, his hands coming up to cradle his now bleeding nose.

It took a moment for the adrenaline in Kate's body to step down a notch. When it did, the form in front of her slowly began to appear clearer in the darkness of her kitchen.  _Oh crap._  Standing in front of her wincing in pain was none other than the writer she had been trying not to wake. Realizing what she had done her first reaction was to see if he was okay. That thought was quickly run down by the anger she felt towards him for acting so stupid.

"Castle what the hell? You came here to protect me from a stalker, and then you sneak up on me in the dark?"

Castle took a moment to stop blubbering to answer her. "I wasn't thinking okay? You woke me up with all your rummaging and I thought it would be fun to surprise you." Removing his hands from his nose he noticed the blood, "Remind me never to do that again."

As much as Kate was annoyed and angry with the writer right now, she also was worried about the damage she might have done. She flipped the light on so they could see and wetted a dish cloth to wipe up Castle's nose. Grabbing his chin in her hand she instructed him to hold still as she wiped away the blood from his face.

"Is it broken?" he asked. "My publisher is going to kill me if it is. I have a press conference in two weeks, and I can't go looking like batman."

Kate couldn't help but smile, picturing Castle running around the precinct humming the batman theme song. "No Castle, it's not. You'll have quite the bruise across your face in a day or two, but other than that you'll be okay. You're lucky you were standing so close, if you had been back an extra step you would have felt it full force."

Castle's bloodied hand reached up to feel his nose. "You mean that wasn't full force?" Kate chuckled.

"Come on; let's go get you cleaned up. She guided him towards her bathroom where she sat him down on the toilet as she began rummaging through her medicine cabinet. Finding what she was looking for she started with washing Castle's hands in the tub. Normally she'd do it in the sink, but her sink wasn't big enough to catch the water running off both their hands.

Castle watched in amazement as Kate worked her medicinal magic. She had been raving mad just a minute ago, and now she was being as gentle as a dove. Her hands moved from his and up to his face where she used a cotton ball with antiseptic to clean up the bits of blood she had missed with the towel. The antiseptic stung the little cuts her knuckles had caused, but he did his best not to whimper too much.

His eyes followed her as she studied his face, looking for anything she had missed. Satisfied her work was done she allowed herself to make eye contact. What she saw in his eyes made her blush slightly and quickly look away. Though she couldn't put an exact emotion on it, what she read was something along the lines of admiration, surprise, and  _love_. Not sure how to respond she cleared her throat and walked back over to the counter. Refusing to look at him again she spoke to him with her back turned. "You're all good Castle. You can go back to sleep now."

She heard Castle get up from his perch and approach where she was standing. He stepped closer than he had before, so much so that she could feel the heat radiating off his body. She felt his soft breath on her ear as he leaned in from behind her. "Thank you" he breathed, before placing a slight peck on her neck, just below her earlobe. Kate had to fight back the urge to let out a moan. How could he have known about that spot? It had taken Will almost a month to find out what that spot did to her, and here Castle was kissing it before they even kissed on the lips.

Castle has always been that way though. Ever since they met he seemed to be in tune with her. Though he could be incredibly annoying, he always seemed to know what she was feeling, even when she didn't. She watched Castle leave the bathroom out of the corner of her eye. His body wasn't giving off the impression that anything had happened, but she could almost feel the electricity sizzle between them. Taking a long, slow breath she made her way back to the living room. To her surprise Castle wasn't sitting on the coach with a smug look on his face. Confused she walked further into the room before turning to catch Castle in the kitchen, happily sipping at a beer. " _Wait a second, that's_ _ **my**_ _beer!_ " she thought.

In one swift moment she snatched the beer out of his hands and stepped out of his reach. Half the can was gone already. "That was my beer Castle."

"Yes, well I figured since you hit me it was only fair that I got it." Despite herself Kate rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't work that way in my house. You buy the beer, you drink it, end of story." Castle's face fell into a fake puppy dog frown.

"Then what do I get to drink?"

"You just drank half my beer!" she shouted, her hands rose in exasperation.

"Okay fine. Can I at least get a cup of coffee and some company while I drink it?" he asked, a hopeful expression on his face. Kate smiled; he really was too damn cute sometimes. Without saying a word she made them both a cup of instant decaf coffee, no sense in making regular when they needed to be up in six hours. Setting the mug in front of him, she passed by him, her own cup steaming in her hand. "Is that a no to the company part?" he asked, his eyes following every step she made.

She hesitated for a moment before replying over her shoulder. "That's a no to company in the kitchen. I need to get some sleep eventually Castle. If you want to talk you're going to have to come chat in the bedroom." With that she sauntered off, leaving a stunned looking Castle contemplating whether she had been serious or not.

As Kate settled into bed, she couldn't help but glance at the door every five seconds, expecting to see Castle's adorable face peeking through her doorway. " _It's been over a minute, what's taking him so long? I thought an opportunity to see my bedroom would have him running."_  Kate took a sip of her coffee as she contemplated.

After another minute or two she finally heard the door creak as the writer timidly entered her bedroom. The man looked so scared, Kate couldn't help but smile. Castle settled down on the farthest corner of the bed, clearly still unsure about his actions. When he looked up he saw Beckett giving him a look of confusion. Sighing he tried to explain himself. "I wasn't sure if you were kidding or not. I really didn't want another injury." The couple stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"I'm not going to kill you Castle. If I was I would have done it long ago. Now scoot closer, you too far away." Castle gave her a smug look but obeyed. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just so used to you invading my personal space it's almost weird talking to you with that much distance between us."

Castle's smug grin grew wider as he scooted even closer to her so that their thighs were side by side. As Castle wiggled to get comfortable his hand gently brushed her side. Immediately her body tensed, the place where he had just touched burning. Kate couldn't believe how her body was reacting tonight. Castle had been this close before and though her body never rejected the closeness it had never reacted like this.

Having finally found a comfortable spot, Castle looked over at Beckett. Her jaw was clenched and her mouth in a thin line. Indicating she was either really pissed, or trying really hard to suppress something. Castle bet on the later, but suppress what? He studied her for another minute, trying desperately to discover something in her eyes. She let her eyes meet his for the briefest of seconds before flicking away and down to her coffee. Though it had only been for a moment Castle had finally caught the emotion she had been hiding, lust.

Kate looked over at Castle who was currently grinning like an idiot. "What?" she snapped. She was not happy with herself for reacting the way she did to his touch, and the grin he was sporting wasn't helping. Castle's grin only grew wider.

Desperately trying to have him stop looking at her with that knowing smile she changed the subject. "I thought you wanted to talk Castle, not stare at me while I drink my coffee."

"I said I wanted company, no one said anything about talking." Castle's eyebrow rose suggestively.

Grabbing a pillow she wacked Castle in the head, "Get your mind out of the gutter Castle or you can go back to the couch."

"Why do you keep beating on me? I'm just an innocent crime novelist, I did nothing wrong." Castle pleaded playfully.

Kate smiled. "Cause you act like a twelve year old on a sugar rush whose been flipping through his daddy's porn magazines." Castle brought a hand to his chest in mock horror as if to say  _who, me? Never._ They both laughed.

"Yes well I may act like a twelve year old on sugar, but one you find to be incredibly helpful, and dare I say it handsome?" Kate rolled her eyes, it was clear Castle was in a playful mood.

"I tell you one time, one time that you're helpful and you never let me live it down. As for the handsome part I wouldn't want to inflate your ego any more than it is." She replied, her tone equally as playful as his had been.

"Wait so was that a yes, you are incredibly handsome, or a, I'm not telling you because I don't want you to know how I feel?" Kate's eyes widen in shock. Did he just try and ask her how she felt about him?

"I, ahh..it was a I'm not telling you because...let's just drop this okay?" she finally finished, completely embarrassed and unsure of what to do with herself.

Castle smiled, and waited to speak until she had resumed eye contact. "It's okay you don't have to say anything, I get it. Really I do. I just want you to know that I think you are the most beautiful, smart and extraordinary woman I know." Kate's eyes began to water she was so touched by Castle's words. She reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. "Just don't tell my mother I said that. She still thinks she's the most extraordinary woman out there." Kate let out a slight watery laugh, leaning closer towards Castle. Castle rested his back against the bed frame and allowed Kate to rest against his shoulder. The couple stayed like this in comfortable silence for a good while.

Finally, Castle broke the silence. "I'm sorry this stalker is after you. When I wrote Heat Wave I never intended for something like this to happen. I never wanted to put you in danger."

Using her hand on Castle's chest to give her leverage she turned to face Castle before answering. "Please don't be sorry Castle. I know you never intended for something like this to happen but it did. As I said before, it's not your fault; the killer just would have found something else to obsess about." Castle looked down and nodded, he knew she was right. "Besides I honestly can't imagine what it would be like at the precinct without you there every day to bug me."They both chuckled, grinning like idiots at each other.

Despite her best efforts Kate let out a loud yawn. "Seems like your mind is finally at ease detective. I guess my work here is done." He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight Kate. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Rick." She replied as she scurried down under her covers. The moment her head hit the pillow she felt herself drifting off, a contented smile plastered on her angelic face.


	9. Foamy Hearts and Misogyny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is quick and simply cute. Popped into my head when I should have been doing my history paper but instead was watching the preview of "Anatomy of Murder" :P Anyway hope you all enjoy, and as always please r & r!
> 
> xo imaginationrunsfree

Detective Ryan and Richard Castle strolled through the precinct as Ryan gave Castle the latest details in the case. "Dr. Rhonda Chimes, who smoking hot by the way, confirmed his story. She went on and on about how Greg was such a great listener, and how he brings her these cute 'thinking of you' gifts."

As the strolled up to the murder board Castle was delighted to add to his latest theory. "Well I knew my homicidal hospital love triangle theory had weight." Pointing for emphasis at Greg's picture on the board Castle continued. "That makes Greg Mc Dreamy. "

"See that's what I thought but..." Ryan drags, stepping past Castle to arrange himself beside the opposite end of the whiteboard. "Doctor Chimes insisted their relationship was purely platonic. So I spoke to more members of the staff and that's when I found...the others."

"The others?"

"The other women in what I call..." Ryan reached behind the murder board, dragging a smaller version out from behind. "The Galaxy of Greg." Castle's face lit up with amusement, clearly pleased with this new development. "Each one of these women orbits Greg and considers him to be her 'special friend'. "

"Oh well that makes him Mc Steamy!"

"Nope. Spoke with all the planets in the galaxy and none of them are sleeping with them. And CSU did a sweep of the facility, none of their carpets match the fibres found from the body."

"No, makes no sense. Why spend all that time listening to women and buying them things if you're not going to try and sleep with them? "Castle asked as his partner appeared from behind him carrying the case file. "Beckett's here..."

"Yah Castle, I am. Is that the only reason your here? To try and sleep with me? Clearly Gina isn't satisfying your needs if your here every day following me like a puppy for  _research_ " her last word came out crisp and cold as ice, anger clear on her face. Castle avoided her gaze, glancing at Ryan who quickly raised his hands and scurried away, clearly wanting no part in this conversation.

"Becks come on; you know that's not what I meant. What I said only applies to other women, if I was here to sleep with you I would have given up long ago."

"Oh so I'm not good enough for you, is that it? You just stick by my side like glue, make inappropriate comments and stare at me all day to what, annoy me?"

Castle sighed; he clearly wasn't going to win this one. "No, you know that's not true. Look, come over here" Castle quickly grabbed Kate by the arm and tugged her into the empty break room before she could protest. "You know how I feel about you Kate. You always have, and don't try to deny it. I'm sorry I said that, the immature male in me was acting up okay? You mean the world to me, and I'm here because I want to be. Not just because of some book, and not just because I want to sleep with you." During his speech Castle had softly gripped Kate's arms in his hands, using his eyes to will her to look at him.

When he had finished he could detect a slight blush in Beckett's cheeks, as she bit her lip in an attempt to stop smiling. Deciding to give up she released her pearly whites and cheekily replied, "So you  _do_  want to sleep with me."

"That's what you got out of that?" Castle asked incredulously. He was about to go on a rant when he saw the joking expression on her face. The pair quickly dissolved into laughter, holding their bellies as tears began to form.

After a moment they recovered, up righting themselves and dabbing at their eyes. "Seriously though, I meant what I just said, you do mean the world to me."

Kate smiled. "I know Castle. It's just nice to get a little confirmation once in awhile, especially since we're both with other people. Just watch the misogynist comments okay?"

Castle grinned his signature grin and nodded in agreement, happy to have this whole thing behind him so quickly.

Beckett leaned in close, her hand just brushing his chest, and spoke lightly in his ear. "Now go make me a cup of coffee before I get mad at you for dragging me in here against my will." Kate exited the break room, not before placing a quick, flirty peck upon Castle's cheek.

Castle stood there for a minute, completely motionless, a wide goofy grin plastered on his face. The things Kate Beckett did still astounded him. Everyday a new layer of the Beckett onion seemed to be making itself known, and this last one certainly intrigued him.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he quickly began to prepare Kate's coffee, preparing the foam for the latte as it brewed. Channelling his inner barista, he careful drew a pattern of foam within her cup. Satisfied with his work, he clutched the mug and proceeded to her desk.

She felt him approach, the smell of coffee wafting near, mixing with his signature scent. He came up behind her and delicately placed the cup before her, before retreating his hand to lightly squeeze her shoulder. She turned to give him a confused look to see him walking away with a knowing smile upon his face.

Now curious she turned her attention back to the coffee placed before her only to discover a golden foamy heart floating atop her favourite beverage. She quickly glanced around to ensure no one was looking before allowing a loving and extremely pleased smile to flood her face. Quickly grabbing her cell she snapped a quick pic before setting it up as her background. Thought she would never admit it to him, at least not anytime soon, she loved all the little things he did, making her coffee one of them. The more time they spent together the more she realized she loved him. Thought they were both in relationships right now, and as always their partnership was 'complicated', she knew,deep down within her heart, that someday, they would be together. Until then, it was memories like these that she'd use to keep her hopeful.


	10. Losing You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know there a tons of versions of the 3XK ending, but I couldn't help myself. As usual, this includes that scene and a continuation afterwards. Hope you like!

The shimmering lights of the pool illuminated his face as I sat beside him. His expression held many emotions; confusion, anger, helplessness. He had been dangerously close to death that night, and thank the Lord, he had survived. I handed him coffee from the convenience store nearby, waiting until he acknowledged the cup and took it. Coffee had always been a symbol of our relationship, a daily comfort that got us through.

For a moment we sat there, feeling lightly awkward, like something needed to be said but we were unsure what. Refusing to look at his face I asked, "Tell me something Castle, why did he let you live?"

Castle thought for a moment, before realization rearranged his features. "To punish me. To make me pay for ruining his plan." He replied, turning now to look at me, forcing my gaze to him. ". Now he's going to kill again all because I couldn't stop him. And I feel so..."

I reached over and grasped his knee in comfort. It was the only gesture I could think of at the moment, and it seemed fitting. Neither of us ever needed a lot to be aware of the other's compassion. We knew it was there in those emotional eyes, flirty quips, or small gestures. "I know the feeling." And I did. The feeling of being helpless, not being able to stop something as bad as you wanted to. He was not used to falling, not used to this feeling. I'd only ever seen this expression once, the day he told me he was leaving. I didn't realize it at the time, but he felt he had lost; lost me.

"I know you do" said Castle, entwining his fingers with mine. Had this been in a different circumstance my heart would have been beating in my chest, and my body going giddy; but this, this was different. This wasn't a romantic hand holding, or a lets be couple hand holding, it was more than that. It said I get it what you're going through and I'm here for you, always, kind of hand holding. It was an unspoken bond between them that would not break.

* * *

It was late at night when we finally pulled into the lot of Castle's building. We hadn't talked much since the hand holding, just filled out the necessary paperwork and then piled into the car. We both knew it was time for him to go upstairs and sleep, but I wasn't quite ready to see him go. I knew I would be seeing him tomorrow, but my heart was still a bit raw from the thought of losing him. Sensing I needed more time he waited patiently, breathing steadily with his eyes on the dash before him. He had already called Martha and Alexis and assured them he was fine. He had told them to go to bed, but no doubt they were waiting up for him.

I tried several times to work out what I wanted to say but nothing seemed to be right. Finally I just suggested walking him up to the loft, using the guise of further assuring the Castle clan as my excuse. He knew that wasn't my real reason, but he nodded in agreement, joining me in getting out of the car and hoping onto the elevator.

As he carefully unlocked the door and stepped inside he was immediately bombarded by Alexis, who wrapped him in a bear hug. I watched as Castle's face lit up, having his little girl in his arms. Martha came over and hugged her son, kissing him on the cheek as she dramatically expressed her worry for him. It was a touching scene to see, and made me flash back to the days when my mom was still alive. I waited patiently in the background and Castle weaved his tale, not as enthusiastically as he usually did. Once in a while Alexis would glance at me for confirmation. Know her dad had the tendency to get carried away, and I helped where I could. The rest of the clan feeling satisfied their patriarch was safe and sound they kissed him goodnight and bid me farewell, leaving us alone once more.

"So..." I began, still not sure how to say what I wanted, but positive that I didn't want to leave.

"Kate?"

"Yes?" I asked, unable to hide the slight hope in my voice.

"Do you want to spend the night? I have a guest room or a couch if you'd like." I had to struggle to keep my excitement in.

"What Castle, no suggestion of sleeping in the same bed? That must have shaken you more than I thought." I regretted my last words as soon as they left my mouth. They sounded insensitive, especially since I had just told him I got what he was going through.

"Yah, actually, it did. But that doesn't mean I can't read you all the same. You clearly don't want to leave your incredibly handsome partner, and I thought I'd be a gentleman and suggest the guest room."

Ahh, I thought, there's my Castle. Smiling I shucked my coat and shoes and pulled him with me to the couch. "Sit" I instructed, placing him against the armrest and grabbing the remote. I settled in beside him, turning on the T.V.

After a while I came to have my head resting upon his chest, his arm wrapped tightly around me. He had been quiet for a good while now, and I thought he had dozed off. "Castle?"

"Yes?"

Fiddling with the button on his coat I cleared my throat slowly before speaking. "I'm really glad you're not dead." I sensed him smile, as his arm grew tighter, wrapping me in an awkward hug.

"I know. You already said that when you untied me." He replied, causing me to smile in return.

"What I  _meant_ was I'm really glad you're not dead, 'cause I don't think I could handle losing you."

Castle was silent for a moment, causing me to turn my head to gaze at his face. He brought his hand up to cup my cheek, eyes locking onto mine, invoking all sorts of emotions in me. Before I knew what was happening his lips were against mine, gently crushing them. It was simple and brief, and yet everything I imagined it would be. I didn't care that I was supposed to be Josh, or that he was currently seeing his second ex-wife. All I cared about was us, in this moment, at this point in time.

I smiled sleepily as he withdrew, stroking his thumb across my cheek. "I don't think I could handle loosing you either."

Smiling, I drew him towards me, kissing him once more as tears slowly dripped down my cheeks. He smiled at me as w broke apart, using his thumbs to brush my tears away. Adjusting so we were in a more comfortable position, I laid myself on top him, head once again resting on his chest. He leaned down to kiss the top of my head, as I closed my eyes, his rhythmic back rubbing lulling me to sleep. I didn't care about what we would have to deal with tomorrow. What this meant to our relationship, or how it affected the ones we were supposed to be in. All I cared about was that we were here, alive and happy, with each other.


	11. The Real Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the hilarity that is Season 3E11 "Nikki Heat."

Having sent the boys to do more digging and Castle having abandoned her to be with the psycho playing her in the Heat Wave movie, Beckett saw no choice other than to sit down and take a good long gulp from her coffee. The caffeine flooded her system, warming and setting her nerves on fire, or was that the fact that it was coffee from Castle? And that Natalie hadn't stolen it this morning before she got her fix.

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Natalie as she too sat down.

"Sure" came the curt reply as she threw her cup back, gulp down her morning savior.

"Is Castle gay?" Coffee spewed from Kate's mouth onto her desk in a classic spit-take. She quickly brought her arm up to wipe her mouth, turning to look at Natalie incredulously.

"I'm sorry what? No. No" she emphasized her point with a shake to her head.

"Then you two are an item and sworn to secrecy right?" asked Natalie, attempting to understand Castle's actions from the previous night.

"No, we are not an item. Why?"

Natalie sighed quickly checking to make sure no one was around to hear what she was about to say. "Last night, I invited him back to my place, and he said something to me that I have never heard from a man before."

" _Oh great, as if this day wasn't bad enough, now I have to endure hearing what charming line Castle wooed Natalie with?"_ thought Beckett, attempting to make her face impartial, but in the end giving up to curiosity. "What?"

"No."

"No?" This was quite a development. For the years she's known Castle, he was never the kind to turn down a tryst with a beautiful actress, much less one that looked exactly like her. Could Castle be finally changing? For her?

"I don't get it! I mean he's into you, but you're determined to not give into these feelings you have for him …"

" _Talk about hitting the nail on the head."_ She thought. _"Natalie is better at this than I thought."_

"…so he fantasizes about you through his writing. It's literally verbal masturbation!" At Natalie's words Beckett moved frantically, trying to move on before images of Castle masturbating to her alter ego flooded her head. If she ruined the Heat Wave sex scene Kate so often imagined, there was going to be hell to pay.

"ahhh, eee, k so what does this all have to do with me?"

"I'm not wearing this get-up for my health" said Natalie, pulling her Beckettesque jacket lapels. "You're Nikki Heat, he's Jameson Rook, I need to sleep with him in the name of character research." Kate just stared. This women would go to any lengths to get her character right. "Can you talk to him?"

"And, say what?"

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, give him permission or something."

Beckett couldn't believe her ears. She was asking Kate to give Castle permission to sleep with her? No way in hell that was going to happen. Unsure of what to say next, she deployed a quick getaway, not before stuttering helplessly in response. "I need to go, over there." She pointed, hoping it would be in a logical direction. She didn't bother to see if Natalie took the excuse, she just quickly grabbed her coffee and speed walked it out of there.

* * *

 

Best-selling murder mystery novelist Richard Castle slowly approached his muse, noting her hunched shoulders and tight stance, showing her agitation. Following her gaze he realized just who she was agitated with, and why it looked like she was hiding. Natalie Rhodes, the woman cast to play Nikki Heat in the movie adaptation of his book was at the murder board, perfecting her Beckett pose.

"Everything okay?"

"Do I really do that?" Beckett asked, scrutinizing her imposter from between the window blinds.

"Yes" Castle replied from behind her. "And it's adorable."

"So then why didn't you sleep with me?" Castle was stunned for a brief moment before Beckett cleared things up. "Her me, not me me."

He took a moment to think. "Oh, well, a fictional character that I wrote, based on you, played by Natalie Rhodes? It's just, way too meta." Kate's faces scrunched in confusion. What the hell was meta?

"So you're saying you didn't sleep with her because she's playing Nikki, or because she's being played by Natalie Rhodes?" Beckett took this opportunity to turn her face towards the writer, wanting him to feel her gaze insisting on the truth.

Castle acknowledged her gaze and focused his sky blues onto hers. "Neither. She's fantasy for a reason. The more I play with the fantasy the farther I'll get from the real thing. Nikki was created to tide me over. "

Silence weighted the air as Kate debated whether to blush or be angry. In the end she compromised. With a flushed complexion she turned her body fully towards him, their bodies just within the realm of being socially acceptable. "That's pretty arrogant of you to assume that you're going to get the real thing Castle. And the way you phrased that made me sound like some notch on your bed post."

He took a step forward, purposely putting her in close proximity to throw her off. "Kate" he said, sending shivers down her spine. "Don't you get it? She's not you! You should know by now that you'll never be just a notch on my bed post. We've been partners for what now, 3 years? And how many moves have I tried to make on you?" She raised her eyebrow at him. "Okay, don't answer that. What I mean is that you're special. You must know I have feelings for you, more than just sexual, and I get that you're in a relationship which is why you can't act on them, but Kate? I wouldn't have stuck around, or fought so hard to comeback this fall if you didn't mean something to me. I've said it once and I'll say it again, you're extraordinary."

She stood there for a moment, taking in everything he had just said, just admitted. She hadn't expected him to lay it out like that. Esposito's words from that fateful day rang out in her head. " _The guy's done enough research to write 50 books. Look, whatever the reason is, I'm pretty sure it doesn't include watching you be with another guy."_ Clearly Esposito was on to something. As much as Kate hadn't wanted to admit it, she had known for a while now that her feelings for Castle had grown substantially since his return. Though they were both in relationships, scratch that, Castle and Gina just broke up, though she was in a relationship, she knew that they wouldn't last. Apparently Castle had realized this too since he had just dumped Gina before Natalie arrived. The only reason she was still holding on to Josh was cause he was safe, and Castle wasn't. But was he worth the risk? More and more the evidence had been piling up that a relationship between her and Castle had lasting potential, but was she ready to take that step?

"Castle, I…thank you. Look, I'm sorry for assuming you slept with Natalie, and that I don't mean anything to you. I know I do, and you should know you mean a lot to me. Natalie has just been getting under my skin, and at first it was okay but now it's feeling like she's trying to steal my life, you included. The coffee was one thing, but trying to sleep with you? No sorry, that doesn't fly with me."

Castle couldn't help but let out a chuckle. She was so adorable when she was jealous and irritated. Beckett sighed, bemusedly asking, "What are you laughing at?"

With a wide grin he replied, "You. You're even cuter when you're jealous, and the fact that you just admitted I mean a lot to you is a cherry on top. Also the comparison between loosing me and loosing your coffee was pretty funny."

She couldn't help but smile back, but gave him a good hit on the chest for his words. "Shut up. Just be happy you got that much out of me." Her smile faded as she attempted to withdraw her hand and Castle clutched it close.

"Don't worry, I am. I know it's not easy for you to admit these things so I appreciate it. And about Natalie? I know she's going crazy with the whole method thing, but she is starting to really get you down. As creepy as she is being, it will be beneficial for the role and for your portrayal as the inspiration. We're close to solving this case, I can feel it. As soon as we're done she'll be on her merry way and then you can have me, and your coffee, all to yourself again okay?" Castle gave her hand a quick squeeze before releasing it, looking into her eyes reassuringly.

"Good. Sharing insight into the character is one thing, but asking for my permission to sleep with you is just weird. The sooner she's gone the quicker things can get back to normal." Beckett stepped away and made her way to the door, intending to return to her desk.

"Wait, what? She asked your permission? What did you say?"

Her face lit up with her signature teasing grin, "What does it matter Castle? You said it yourself you only want the real thing, and if you play your cards right you just might have a shot."

She left him with his mouth agape, adding an extra saunter to her step, knowing full well he was looking at her rear end as she retreated. What Natalie had said amoungst her weird babble about character development had made some sense. Clearly the feelings were there, and if things continued to develop like they had between them, they may just have a shot. And though she'd never admit it to anyone, even Lanie, she really hoped they got there soon.


	12. Turning Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a missing scene from "Coppers and Robbers" just before they get to Castle's apartment. All I could think about was Kate's hair being down and wavy and how Castle had maybe been involved. I was going for teasing and hot, but it kinda turned out more sappy then I planned. Oh well, who doesn't love a good fluff fic now and then right?

He watched her as they entered her car, his jedi mind skills telling him that she was working up to saying something. His mind could only guess as to what, it had been a long day and any number of topics could be on the table; the hostage situation, the choice by the bank robbers to dress as doctors, the feeling of a job well done when the cops caught Ron before he could take Connor away. Anything could be on her mind, but he hoped it has something to do with that feeling. That overwhelming need to kiss and hug one another until their hearts stopped racing and the world disappeared around them. He remembered her pull on his lapel, silently wishing him forward but afraid to move any closer. The way she looked at him; joy, relief, love. Sitting here in her car he almost wished he could relive it. Though the constant threat of a bullet to his brain, or the thought that he may never see Alexis again still scared him, that one moment he shared with Kate after the bomb blew was almost worth it, almost.

He drew his attention to her face, slightly flushed, with the faintest trace of worry lines decorating her forehead. Her eyes finally met his when she cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Castle, I…I'm really glad you're okay. I don't think I would have been able to handle myself if something had happened to you."

Castle placed a comforting hand on her arm, pulling her slightly towards him. "It's over now, okay? We solved the case and I'm here, with you, about to share a wonderful meal with my family. I've learned from experience that sometimes it's better to focus on what you've gained, rather then what you could have lost."

Kate's eyes widened with realization as flashes of her lying bleeding on the ground bombarded her brain. Castle's proclamation of love rang loudly in her ears, and a wave of guiltiness washed over her as she remembered his face when she had told him she didn't remember. He had suffered 3 months without being able to see her and acknowledge her existence and he had managed. She couldn't last a day. A year of two ago maybe, but knowing what she knew now, given what they had invested, she couldn't imagine a day without him by her side.

She didn't realize she was crying until she felt his palm cradle her cheek and the brush of his thumb as he wiped away a tear. She gazed at him through watery eyes, drinking in the sight of him and thanking God that he had brought Castle into her life.

Before she could second guess herself, she grabbed his lapels and crushed her lips against his. She felt his surprise at her actions, but was pleased to find it only last a minute before he met her with equal force, pulling the clip out of her hair so he could thread his fingers through it in an attempt to bring her closer. Despite the intensity behind it, the kiss was soft and reassuring, nothing carnal. It was a way for them to pour out their love for one another without words, to promise one another their eternal devotion. When they broke for air Kate leaned her forehead against his, their chests heaving with emotion.

Castle was the first to break the silence, lightening the mood like he always does. "You have no idea how badly I've been wanting to do that."

Kate giggled, and placed another quick peck on his lips. "Probably as much as I've wanted to" she teased. "Probably would have done it sooner if your mom hadn't ruined the moment."

Castle pulled slightly away in mock offense. "Hey! The woman had been held up in a bank all day fearing for her life, her urgency to get out of there makes sense. Although, knowing what you just told me, I probably would have told her to buzz off for a moment so I could get my hero's kiss."

Kate laughed and his eyes crinkled in delight. He wrapped her up in a hug and held her there breathing in her scent and basking in the moment. Their relationship was a complicated one, and moments like this didn't get to happen often. Someone was always interrupting, or things were pushed aside to talk about later. It was nice for once to just acknowledge how scared they were today and provide one another with comfort.

After a few minutes of holding one another Castle couldn't help but let his hands wander some. Every day he dreamed of holding this woman, exploring her body. Though he wasn't getting an all access pass, he was going to try and work his way through the line until he got caught.

He started with a kiss to her collarbone as his hand began roaming her back, working its way up her shirt. His kisses teased her as he kissed up her neck and around her mouth, never quite reaching her lips. When his hand brushed her sensitive stomach she hummed in pleasure and brought her mouth to his. Their lips seared against one another has tension built and the heat increased. Tongues began to explore, tasting the caverns of one another mouths as her hands pulled his body flush with hers and he grabbed her ass. She moaned in delight when her body shifted against the gear stick between them, wishing it was his she was feeling.

He pulled away to burn a trail down her neck and chest with his lips and she arched into his touch, her body screaming at her to give in but her mind reeling at how quickly the tables had turned. Using all the strength she could muster she pushed herself slightly away from him, struggling to tell him to stop. He stopped, a little disappointed but also thankful. He didn't want their first time to be in the back of her car, and frankly, if her shirt had come off there was no guarantees that he would be able to stop.

"I'm sorry Castle. I just, I don't want to go any farther when I can't promise more you know? I want to finally start this, I really do, but the wall…it just makes things too complicated. I want this to be easy, we have enough going on in our lives already without added complications."

Castle nodded in understanding. "No, no I get it. Though it may mean I hate walls with a passion until yours finally comes down, I understand were your coming from. Just knowing your willing to work hard to make our romantic relationship work before it even gets started is good enough for now." Kate smiled fondly at him giving his hand a squeeze as he grinned back. "One condition though."

She rolled her eyes but played along, "What is it Castle?"

"I get to do this after a rough case. To hold you in my arms, to kiss you when no one is looking, to know that no matter what life throws at us we will be fine, always."

Kate thought about it for a moment, wondering if continuing like this before her walls were down was smart. Seeing the love in his eyes as she glanced up at him helped her decide. To hell with walls and not being ready, after a day like this there was no where she would rather be.

"Ok Castle, you got yourself a deal." Their lips met once more in a short kiss filled with promises of others yet to come. Adjusting herself back into her seat she turned the car on and buckled up. "Now let's go eat that dinner shall we? Wouldn't want Martha to get upset after a day like today."

Castle chuckled agreeing with Beckett and settling in as she pulled out of the parking spot. It may have started off as a horrible day, but it sure seemed like things were turning around.


End file.
